Search

Mountain Journal

Environment, news, culture from the Australian Alps

Open Search

Protect Macedon’s rare Snow Gums from chainsaws

As you know snow gum communities across the high country face an existential threat from the combined impacts of dieback and more frequent and intense fire seasons. Sadly the isolated pockets of snow gums away from the higher mountains also face significant threats, like in the Mt Cole ranges where the Bayindeen fire damaged sections of remnant snow gum forest.

There is currently an immediate threat to the wonderful snow gum forests on Mt Macedon and I am asking you to take a few moments to contact MPs and urge them to stop imminent tree felling operations.

Urgent update April 13, 2026

We have just heard that destruction of trees on Mt Macedon has started! While snow gums have not yet been cut, access tracks have been created to allow destruction of trees, which could start on April 14.

Please express your concern about this by taking action: Simply tell them how concerned you are by this destruction and urge them to intervene to stop the clearfelling.

Take action here: sign this letter to the ministers.

Or you can email them with your own message:

  • contact the Minister for Planning, Sonia Kilkenny: sonya.kilkenny@parliament.vic.gov.au
  • contact the local MP: Maryanne Thomas. E: mary-anne.thomas@parliament.vic.gov.au
  • contact the State Environment Minister: Steve.Dimopoulos@parliament.vic.gov.au
  • Spread the word: Share stories and images of Macedon’s Snow Gums on social media using #SaveMacedonSnowGums.
  • If you are in the area please visit the summit and get images of what is happening. Please email to: cam.walker@foe.org.au

UPDATE APRIL 14.

Check here for an update on actions today.

RALLY – SUNDAY APRIL 19

Local community members invite you to join them at 10am this Sunday April 19, Mt Macedon Memorial Cross Reserve, for a peaceful rally.

Above: trees marked for felling, April 13.

Continue reading “Protect Macedon’s rare Snow Gums from chainsaws” →

2

Tele Take Over at Perisher

For many years I organised an annual get together at Mt Hotham to celebrate World Telemark Day. We would have up to 35 people meet and spend the day on the mountain. Eventually in 2018, we moved the Tele Day to Falls Creek and it morphed into the first Victorian Backcountry Festival (which has now morphed into the Australian Backcountry Festival, and will happen over three days at Mt Hotham at the end of August.

But the Tele Meetup tradition continues!

Sophie Stud posts in the Australian Telemarks facebook group that there will be another Tele Take Over this winter. She says: ‘A few of you may have made it to last years Tele take over, this year I would love to make it bigger then ever’.

Continue reading “Tele Take Over at Perisher” →

0

A winter visit to Boiler Plain

A Reference Area in Victoria is a ‘tract of public land containing viable samples of one or more land types that are relatively undisturbed’. The Boiler Plain Reference Area near Paw Paw Plain on the Brabralung trail that runs between Mt Hotham and Dinner Plain is, sadly, after recent fires, no longer ‘relatively undisturbed’, but it is rarely visited. This tour, happening as part of the 2025 Australian Backcountry Festival will visit Boiler Plain, allowing participants to see this remote area on skis or snow shoes.

Continue reading “A winter visit to Boiler Plain” →

0

Things are looking good for the Kangaroo Hoppet

After two warm and depressing winters, all snow lovers needed a break this year, and its absolutely delivered what was needed: good snow pack in resort and backcountry, with regular top ups (despite those periods of miserable rain). Its been great for everyone, including businesses and workers who did it tough the last two years.

It’s great to see that things are looking good for the Kangaroo Hoppet, which is Australia’s main cross country ski event which draws people from around the world.

Continue reading “Things are looking good for the Kangaroo Hoppet” →

0

The land endures.

Hydro power has reshaped the landscape of lutruwita/ Tasmania, and was the centre of political power in the state for many decades. It was only in the 1980s, during the campaign to stop the Gordon-below-Franklin Dam from being built, that this power was really challenged. Now the time for new hydro is done, and there is a live debate about draining and restoring the famous Lake Pedder in the south west of the state.

Like many mountain places in NSW and Victoria, the impacts of the hydro both fade and remain. The old workers towns in the Snowy Mountains or Bogong High Plains are long gone but the dams, aqueducts, roads, huts and other infrastructure remain. The very flow of the Snowy River was profoundly changed by the dams in the headwaters of that very special river. In the Snowy Mountains, the Snowy 2.0 hydro project sees huge numbers of trucks on mountain roads and a large ecological footprint as new tunnels are bored.

But, more and more, those huge impacts appear in the rear view mirror and, in many places the land is in recovery despite ongoing impacts.

Continue reading “The land endures.” →

0

Good manners in the mountains

Anyone who spends time in the high country will have seen the exponential growth in visitors during ski season in recent years, especially since the covid times. Resort car parks full, mayhem on the roads, rubbish along the access roads, overcrowding. This is our new reality, so it’s worth thinking about how we can make it work.

Firstly, we should admit that change can be hard. We love these places and are used to the way things are. Suddenly the roads are busier, the car parks and ski runs are full, even the usual campgrounds are busy with people.

Continue reading “Good manners in the mountains” →

Featured post
0

All the Rivers Run

This winter’s snow has been wonderful. Great for skiers, riders, snow shoers and all winter enthusiasts. And of course all the businesses and workers that have endured two grim winters. But there are lots of great things to do outside the snow country.

Kelly van den Berg describes some of the adventures to be had paddling the rivers of Gippsland. Many of these places are remote and out of the way, and as with backcountry touring, require effort to get the return. But with a bit of exploring and planning there are wonderful rivers to run.

‘Packrafters especially are finding a new sense of freedom in Gippsland’s terrain. Their ultralight inflatable boats allow access to places traditional kayaks can’t easily reach like remote alpine valleys, steep descents, or hike in only headwaters. It’s a style of travel that blends bushwalking, river running, and backcountry problem solving into a single magnificent pursuit.’

Continue reading “All the Rivers Run” →

0

Skiing in the Pyrocene. Good winter snowpack exposes the scale of forest loss

If you were in eastern Australia, then Black Summer was a fire season that you will remember. Crazy fires, loss of life and houses, millions of animals killed, enormous damage to landscapes, including across the mountains.

One particular fire was at Mt Tabletop in the Alpine national park, which was started by a lightning strike on December 31, 2019. It went on to become an enormous blaze of more than 40,000 hectares that threatened the village of Dinner Plain twice, and many houses in the Cobungra area. It also had significant ecological impacts, burning large areas that had been burnt previously, compounding the damage caused by those earlier fires.

Continue reading “Skiing in the Pyrocene. Good winter snowpack exposes the scale of forest loss” →

0

The Soul of Walking

All of us are drawn to nature. For some people, that might be a pleasant view of a park from a window. For others it might be an epic paddling trip down a river through a wilderness area. It’s a deep need we all feel in some way. But as there are ever more people on the planet, and more people wanting to go walking and exploring wild areas, the impact of exploring adds up.

Informal trail networks can become degraded from over use, and the untracked zones shrink a bit every year as more people visit the wild places. It’s a dilemma for land managers and also for all of us who love to explore these places.

In this article, Josh Hamill explores the question of how recreational hiking can coexist with the preservation of wilderness areas (he describes wilderness as ‘nature as it is’).

Continue reading “The Soul of Walking” →

0

Mission to Mt Pinnibar, June 2025

Mt Pinnibar is a remote and lovely mountain in north eastern Victoria. It’s quite a journey to get to, and a decent ski in from the gate which is locked in winter. The last time I tried to get in there I found myself in a logging coupe that cut across the road, where previously damaged alpine ash was being logged over again. Beyond the coupe, the road was blocked by an enormous tree that had been placed there by the loggers, which necessitated the most epic 28 point turn I have ever had to do.

I do find the access roads (there are a couple of options to get in there) a bit intense in mid winter. In these brief piece from Trevor Staats, originally published on the Australian backcountry facebook group, Trevor does note the need for all the ‘backcountry safety gear – wheel chains, shovels, recovery straps, air compressor, chainsaw, and more’. Continue reading “Mission to Mt Pinnibar, June 2025” →

1

Completing the Trilogy: All.I.Can, Valhalla, Fire on the Mountain

Geez, the world is grim right now, isn’t it? Wars and genocide grind on, authoritarian ‘leaders’ seek to take over democracies, removing basic human rights that have taken decades to secure. The climate crisis continues to escalate, while the large fossil fuel companies and their allies block meaningful action.

But, of course, the world is still an amazing place, full of beauty and goodness. Sometimes that’s what you need to focus on, so you can deal with the other stuff.

Skiing makes me happy. It is one of the great joys in my life. And I love the culture that exists around a love of winter and snow. One of the many manifestations of mountain culture is, of course, the genre of skiing and snow boarding films. Many are joyous celebrations of the mountains, of deep powder, freedom, connection and community.

Continue reading “Completing the Trilogy: All.I.Can, Valhalla, Fire on the Mountain” →

1

Contribute your ideas to the Alpine Resorts Strategic Plan

Here is a chance to express your views about how the alpine resorts in Victoria should be managed. There is currently a review of the Alpine Resorts Strategic Plan, with submissions open until July 6.

Continue reading “Contribute your ideas to the Alpine Resorts Strategic Plan” →

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑